Tag: Food

Autumn equals harvest time in the Northern Hemisphere.

As the daughter and granddaughter of farmers, I’ve been paying attention to the seasons all of my life. Much depends  on seasons and weather when growing crops and animals. And while my farming has dwindled to a tiny plot of garden – planted with hope every spring – I still pay attention.

Canada recently celebrated their Thanksgiving holiday. The United States will follow in late November. This is truly a time to reflect on the harvest — one farmer grows more than enough to feed his family. The abundance in the grocery store — with produce bins full of bright seasonal fruits and vegetables, a variety of mead and dairy products available, and frozen and canned foods available without the hours of prep work.

Abundance! Give Thanks!

Fruit trees in the Upper Midwest, where I grew up, bloom in the spring and have fruit ready for harvest from mid-summer to fall. Depending on the sort of tree.

Winter fruit — well — that was from the store. Unless it was from a jar an adult preserved during the local harvest.

And at the holidays we often bought special fruit. Big, shiny apples shipped from another state. Or oranges — they fit so well in the toe of a Christmas stocking.

A few years our house received a box of very special fruit. A relative living in California would send my grandmother a box of “tree ripened” citrus. They were extra large and extra sweet.

Mmmmm. This sight brings back memories.

Delicious as a snack.  Healthful for dessert.  Foundation for a drink.

Today’s fall fruit can be enjoyed in many ways. In addition it adds a splash of color to the table.

This particular cluster went from the supermarket to my shopping cart to my home. Where, after the photo session, they were bathed and clipped into smaller portions for the pleasure of my taste buds.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy grapes? Do you have a special variety you seek out?

Autumn Harvest. It’s more than pumpkins.

Today we’ll focus on that versatile fruit — Apple.

You can eat them raw — for a healthy part of a brown bag lunch or snack. Have a knife at hand? You may want to slice them to share or dip in a caramel or sweet fruit dip.

A clever person could write an entire book on cooking them. Pie. Cobbler. Tart. Sauce. Butter. Baked. Fried. Cake.       Yum. Yum. Yum.

Don’t like your food crunchy? Try juice. Let it ferment to cider.

Whether you visit an orchard and pluck it from the tree or make your selection for a supermarket bin — enjoy the fruits of the season.